How to Start a Photography Business

Lesson 38 of 87

Grass Roots Marketing

How to Start a Photography Business

Lesson 38 of 87

Grass Roots Marketing

Lesson Info

Grass Roots Marketing

This segment is all about network marketing. It's all about the team that you're going to be building around you. Now Kenna has been amazing and lovely and introducing us and telling everybody what Justin, Chris, and I have created and I want to set the tone right here and say I super appreciate all of that while saying that this was where we are here today entirely 100% a team effort. Not only from my business partners but also from the entire team at Lin and Jirsa. I know that most of you probably are not looking to create a 30 or 40 person team but I do want to get this one point across that you essentially are going to create that team whether or not they're in your company you're going to have a team of people around you that are going to support you that's the only way your business is going to get off the ground. It's the only way you're going to have a reason to get up in the mornings on the days that it's just really brutal. It might not have anything to do with business and I...

have days like that, I have a year like that where my team at Lin and Jirsa was literally the entire reason why I was going and getting up out of bed each morning. This is an important thing to understand for someone that's going to have a partnership, but it's more important to understand for those of you that are going to lone wolf this process. If you're going out as a sole proprietor you're going to run your own business, you need this. This is your network, these are the people around you that's going to be composed of your photographer friends, it's going to be composed of your client friends, it's going to be composed of all the people that you currently have as friends and family and everybody that is going to lift you up through the process, does that make sense? And in those down moments go to them. Go to your photographer friends and those groups, that is the best time to go to those groups is to say I'm having a rough time right now, tell me something what do I need to do, help me. Call up your buddy. I'm going to tell you what benefits you're going to get from that. So we're jumping into now where our roadmap focus is on network marketing and the creation of content, so we are not only network, we're joining in the groups, we're networking, we're in person, online, all that kind of stuff, we're going to (mumbles) our family, for artistic development. This is that piece, it's also going to be, so this is all networking, it's also going to be starting the network and then creating that bit of first content which we're going to get heavy into in weeks nine through 12. We're just going to start the topic now. Grassroots marketing. In your early years, you're going to be bootstrapping it your capital is going to be at a minimum. We're not going to have a ton of money, I'm hoping that you guys have your war chest, 30, 40, $50,000 that you can rely on for the next 12 months 18 months to get your business going, but either way you need to watch every dollar that you're spending. In the meanwhile, time is going to be your most abundant resource at least I'm hoping, 'cause if you don't have cash you better have time, one of those things you need to have. Time is where we're going to make up all of what we don't have on the capital side right now. Then in the later years this could be six months down the road it could be 12 months down the road, I want you to think about buying back your time and some of your life from the business. Because this is a mentality that you're going to run into that's difficult to accept. You're business owners and you're now doing $150, in revenue but student management is becoming a really difficult thing. I'm sure a lot of you are towards this position right now. You guys that are online, you're in that 80 to $150, income range and to get somebody into the studio full time part time you're looking at 25 to $50,000 a year and you're like man that's a lot of money. That's going to be tough for me to spend just to get somebody to help me manage this process. So let me give you something that'll help you in getting through that mindset. One, they don't cost $25,000 a year. They cost $2500 a month. Does that make sense? We think of it in yearly amounts because that's what their salary is but in reality it's a monthly amount which means that if immediately they are not giving you a return making your life better buying back your time within one month you can let them go and be back to whatever it is that you're doing. Does that help in thinking about that risk of hiring somebody on? It's a $2500 risk it's not a $25000 risk. So think in that sense. Also think in the sense of buying back your time because right now while your time might be abundant, down the road it won't be and you're going to want to spend time with your family, more importantly, not more importantly than your family, but inside of the business more important than doing the post-production everything there, you need to be getting more business, that's where your time needs to be is in acquiring clients and doing things that you need on that side. So buy back some of that time. Memorize this, this is your four-prong grass roots marketing plan and guess what, this is the division of time that I want you guys to have because every one of you is going to use what to track your time? Toggle, you're all going to toggle your time. And we're going to use what to manage our work intervals? (mumbles) just focus or any that you choose. In terms of that toggling time in your efforts in marketing, this is where that time should go. If you're going to spend ten hours in marketing four hours should be in learning SEO and content marketing and writing, four hours should be in the networking side, wedding industry, friends, family, photographers, online groups, styled shoots, collaborators, photographers is a smaller one in that group. One hour of your time on social media, posting everything. One hour of your time in listing and directories posting. The unfortunate truth right now is if you were to toggle your time you probably are somewhere around nine hours in all of this, and about one divided between the three of the other ones. I know it's true because it was true for me, it was like everybody wants to know the magic bullet on social media to get more clients, here's the magic bullet get off of social media. That's not the route, Instagram is decent, Pinterest is amazing, unfortunately you guys are all on Facebook. It's just not the place to be. We'll talk about how to spend your time, how to make this time effective as opposed to draining 'cause it is necessary it's just how many courses are there that talk about Instagram success and Instagram your way to this and Facebook market your way to success and Facebook based on SEO Mods which we'll talk about, this is a major online leads acquisition based company, states that Facebook is no longer a place to acquire new customers. It's a place to connect with people in your industry. It's a place to connect with your friends. Even Mark Zuckerberg himself said he wants Facebook to be not about businesses, you've seen him destroy the algorithms and how it's affected businesses in reach and effect that means your time needs to be diverted. That's your first year, beyond your first year once you're up and running I want you to increase the social media involvement just a little bit. We're going to go from one hour to two hours a week that kind of adjustment. We're going to spend still most of our time in SEO and content, the other side of our time in networking. And 5% of our time in listing and directories. Listing and directories is simple because you post it once a day even if you did it daily, you put up a post in five ten minutes and you're done you don't bother with it again. Directors do the same thing, once you finish your listing in your directory, you don't touch it again. Is this making a bit of sense? Yes.
What is CEO I forgot.
SEO
CEO and content.
SEO is search engine optimization. It's a broad topic that we're going to talk about, it's building marketing assets not buying marketing time if that makes sense. It's more so building and we're going to discuss a huge part of this class is going to be on SEO.

Class Description

The content and opinions expressed in this course are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem

Short on time? This class is available HERE as a Fast Class, exclusively for Creator Pass subscribers.

AFTER THIS CLASS YOU’LL BE ABLE TO:

Start a photography business

Develop the ideal business structure and business plan

Research competitors and the market in your area

Build a short-term and long-term strategy

Create a marketing plan and marketing materials on a budget

Confidently conduct an in-person or phone sales session

Manage small business tasks from accounting to strategy

ABOUT PYE'S CLASS:

Professional photographers aren't just people with a knack for photography and a good camera -- because launching a small business on nothing but passion is a sure-fire way to fail spectacularly. Layer business savvy, marketing know-how, professional grit and more onto your existing passion and learn how to start a photography business. Take your hobby, vision, and creativity and build a career -- whether you are looking to run a full-time business or just a side gig.

Led by a photographer that's also a certified public accountant, Pye Jirsa, the class teaches the ins and outs of launching a photography business from the ground up. Along with three full days of instruction, Pye shares a 12-week plan to get your business up and running, a business expense calculator and more inside the class workbook. Understand what gear and skills you need before you launch and how to build a portfolio by photographing family members or organizing a stylized shoot.

Stop feeling overwhelmed by the monumental task and tackle one task a day in a 12-week plan. Brainstorm names for your business and learn the different types of business licenses available. Secure a domain name and build a website that's easily searchable. Develop a marketing plan with little investment. Master in-person sales and book your first session.

Whether you want to venture out in portrait photography, commercial work or any other client-based type of photography, learn the "business" in photography business with Pye Jirsa.

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR:

Pye Jirsa is a wedding photographer with Lin & Jirsa photography -- but besides running a successful photography business, he also has a background in accounting, creating the perfect blend for teaching the ins and outs of running a photography business. Along with working as a photographer and educator, Pye is also one of the founders of SLR Lounge, an online resource for photographers.

Learn from a founder of a photography business that photographs more than 300 weddings a year. Pye's Los Angeles and Orange County wedding photography business has been named among the top 100 wedding photographers by Brandsmash.

There are easier ways to make a living, Pye says, and the expectation that photography is easy money is setting yourself up for failure. Find out what the average studio spends on costs and start calculating rough numbers using an easy spreadsheet included in the class workbook.

The reality of working as a photographer, Pye says, is that 10 percent of your time will be spent taking pictures -- and 90 percent will be running the business. Pye redefines the passion that you need for business.

Can your clients really tell the difference between an f/1.2 and an f/2.8 lens? Between a good camera and a high-end camera? No -- which means you shouldn't be wasting money on gear that you think that you need. Instead, re-focus on what clients easily notice.

Getting a photography business off the ground can be done in as little as 12 weeks. In this lesson, Pye shares the roadmap for a 12-week launch, using the included class workbook to build your plan of attack.

Develop a focus to make the task of launching a business less monumental -- and launch a business that's better poised to compete. In this lesson, learn the importance of developing a focus then narrow down the focus of your business.

What are your competitors doing? Professional photographers shouldn't burn up all their time comparing businesses, but researching competitors is an important part of the process. Learn who's really your competitor, develop a research strategy, and understand what to look for.

Analyze your business environment by looking at your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats -- or S.W.O.T. Adapt this common business practice to photography and learn how to apply the analysis to your own business launch.

Developing your business values, vision, and mission creates a foundation that helps your strategy and goals fall into place. Whether you work alone or with a team, pinpoint your values, vision, and mission.

Business owners that work from home often fall into the trap of neglecting to set a schedule. Learn how to effectively manage your time as a business owner when you don't have a time clock to punch, from setting hours and goals to tools to help you track your time.

What's the difference between luxury and consumer, besides just price? In this lesson, Pye walks through the different qualities that tend to be associated with luxury brands compared to consumer goods -- and how that relates to photography.

Work through the basic business tasks you'll need to tackle, from gear to business management software. Tackle registering your business name (including checking for an available domain name) and opening a business bank account. Learn why an LLC is often best for protecting personal assets, and the different types, such as a sole proprietor.

Design a pricing structure that suits your business and your goals. Learn what to do -- and what not to do -- when building your photography packages. Stop upselling and create a package that you -- and your clients -- will love from the start.

How do you create a marketing plan when you have no marketing budget? Build a plan to market your business on a budget, including network marketing and social media. Then, adapt your marketing plan as your business grows.

Directory listings and online classifieds are a simple, inexpensive way to get your name out there when you are getting started. Master some best practices for using online classifieds and similar options.

Most brides use Pinterest more than any other platform to engage with vendors -- and the platform is important to other genres like family photography and newborn portraits too. Tackle Pinterest and learn to make your clients work for you by adding a simple plug-in to your site.

Pye cautions against relying on Facebook -- or any single source -- to build your business. But, Facebook is still an important part of your social media marketing. Learn Facebook marketing best practices.

Just how viable is that keyword idea? In this lesson, learn how to determine if a keyword is good or not --and gain new ideas -- using the free Google Keyword Planner tool as well as options like Moz and SEM Rush.

Armed with your keyword ideas, determine what options should be your main focus and what should be a niche. Determine the main search goal, then build smaller niche goals for creating a searchable website.

Build a strategy from those keywords and start building website content to bring potential clients in through search. Learn where to plug in those search terms and how to organize your web content using keywords.

Once you have your focus and keywords, it's time to start building your website content. Learn how to write better website content, where to place those keywords, and best practices for building content that will get noticed by Google.

What about links that originate off your website? Backlink building helps boost your website in the search results by building authority. Learn the basics for building authority by getting links on other websites.

By identifying the client's wishes early in the process, you can create the best pitch tailored to that individual. In this lesson, Pye shares the system he uses to get to know what a client is looking for.

Word choice matters in sales. In the final lesson of the course, learn what words to avoid and what to use instead.

FOR ON-DEMAND ACCESS

Reviews

Angela Sanchez

This class has been an eye opener for me; a point of change in my vision as photographer. Pye is and AMAZING, INSPIRING, GENEROUS instructor, with an, authentic desire to help people and to share with them the best of his knowledge. I will not have enough words to say thanks to Pye Jirsa, as a teacher and as a human being, and thanks to Creative Live who allows us to benefit from the experience of such a knowledgeable, educated, well-versed photographer and instructor. 1000% recommended!

Yenith LianTy

Been following this guy forever. Pye Jirsa may be well known in the wedding & portrait photography world and if there is something that this guy knows it is how to create a business, a sustainable one. The workbook he provided is comprehensive, and I honestly wish I had this when I first started out as a photographer! I love that he talks about his failures, keeping it real and honest for anyone starting out. He is definitely one of the best instructors around, super humble, down to earth and with a sense of humor to boot. The course is worth it! THE WORKBOOK is AMAZING! SUPER DETAILED!

Tai Hsin

I saw the live broadcast and it was amazing. Pye is one of the best instructors and inspirational photographers.. there are two type of ppl.. one who has the knowledge and doesn’t know to teach another who has the knowledge and knows how to get it through....
I still didn’t purchase this as I am saving for my daughters entrance fee for collage... :)
Anyways he’s one of the best instructors and a good friend.... very humble and always cracks jokes....
Keep inspiring and keep teaching.... my blessings are always with you pye.